What is Yoga Zumba Bliss? Yoga Zumba Bliss is a combination class which uses the inwardly moving techniques of yoga and the outward expression of guided dance, Zumba. Yoga philosophy says that at our core energetic being we are blissful consciousness, anadamaya kosha. Yoga practices are designed to help you tap into and catch glimpses of this deepest being. Most yoga practices move energetically in and deep. Dance becomes a yogic expression when it flows from the joy we find there. In Yoga Zumba Bliss, we join in community dance to express the movement of prana upward and outward.

How did you come up with this idea? Yoga Zumba Bliss is George Beekman's brain child. He came up with the idea. He would take my morning yoga class and then my morning Zumba class. It seemed to him to be the perfect combination. I actually took a bit of convincing. I had separated the two modalities in my mind and personal practice. But he was right. The two energetic expressions are not separate but are intimately linked. Yoga is union. One take on this common definition is that yoga unites all expressions of life that bring spaciousness, consciousness, and freedom. Perhaps not for everyone, but for me and for George, Zumba does this as deeply as my meditation practice.

Tell us what is unique about the Yoga Zumba Bliss experience. Yoga Zumba Bliss balances inward searching with outward expression. The path of yoga is a path toward freedom, freedom from that which constrains and restricts the joyful expression of your life. In YZB, we start by looking inward with yoga breath and asana. But we go further and chance a taste of ecstatic joy, dance, within safe guidelines of guided dance, Zumba. Always, we return to the source and move back inward at the end of class to yoga to renew and rejuvenate from the source of joy, again anandamaya kosha.

How much Yoga or Zumba experience does a person need? I imagine the reply is none which begs the question, how is that? What do you do or how is the class structured to keep a novice at ease and safe? Yoga Zumba Bliss is intended for people without any asana or dance expertise. The dances are simple and repetitive. The dance portion is not a dance technique class nor a performance oriented class. It's a joy class. The asana and gentle and flowing.